# Foie Gras



## Jsabbi01 (Feb 24, 2005)

Anyone else here ever make Foie Gras at home? I will be making it for the first time tonight, and can't decide whether to make it in a fig/port reduction sauce or a peach/plum balsamic sauce. I could always go the traditional apples/shallots route too. 

I have only had Foie Gras once before, and it was excellent. I am hoping that the Foie Gras is easy to work with, as this will be my first time using it. For those of you who don't know, Foie Gras is a French delicacy dating back to the ancient Egyptians. It is force fed duck or goose livers.


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## caskwith (Apr 10, 2006)

I make it into a Pate with port, shallot, bacon and redcurrant jelly, best way to have it i think. fry them all up in a small frying pan then deglaze with the port and puree until smooth, serve on hot buttered toast with a glass of port or red wine, sheer heavan!


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## SeanGAR (Jul 9, 2004)

caskwith said:


> I make it into a Pate with port, shallot, bacon and redcurrant jelly, best way to have it i think. fry them all up in a small frying pan then deglaze with the port and puree until smooth, serve on hot buttered toast with a glass of port or red wine, sheer heavan!


Uhmmm ... that does sound tasty .....


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## par (May 22, 2005)

That sounds like absolute bliss for the tastebuds!


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## kansashat (Mar 13, 2004)

I've had chicken liver pate, which really isn't too bad if you have a chef that knows what he/she's doing. Unfortunately, we don't get many of those in Kansas, so it's been almost 30 years since I've had anything palatable. I can only imagine what the real thing would be like......


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## caskwith (Apr 10, 2006)

SeanGAR said:


> Uhmmm ... that does sound tasty .....


It sure is, i do the same thing with plain duck/goose liver and even chicken livers, always comes out really nice, the trick is to fry everyhting gently so it goes nice and brown and sticky, then use the port to get all those juices into the pate.

btw also nice if you add a little garlic for a change, and use a lightly smoked bacon for a little extra flavour.


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## galaga (Sep 18, 2003)

kansashat said:


> I've had chicken liver pate, which really isn't too bad if you have a chef that knows what he/she's doing. Unfortunately, we don't get many of those in Kansas, so it's been almost 30 years since I've had anything palatable. I can only imagine what the real thing would be like......


Can ya cook -- you want a great recipe?


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## Ivory Tower (Nov 18, 2005)

Yes, we want your recipe. :SM


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## Baric (Jun 14, 2006)

If this post has tantalised anybody's tastebuds with the promise of foie gras, heres a decent enough link for recipes (at the very bottom):

http://frenchfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa031003a.htm


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## galaga (Sep 18, 2003)

From The Worlds Best Recipes CookBook; Marvin Small ed.

This does not keep for mare than a few days, so make it shortly before it is needed.

1 teaspoon rendered chicken or pork fat
2 pounds chicken livers
3 eggs
1/3 cup cognac
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
2/3 cup diced freash unrendered chicken fat or pork fat
1 onion coarsly chopped
1/2 cup flour
5 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teasponn msg
2 teaspoons white pepper
1 teaspoon allspice

1 lightly grease a 3-quart pan with rendered fat
2 In an electric blender, make a fine puree of the livers, eggs, cognac, and cream. From time to time add a little diced fat, onion, and flour.( It wil not be possible to do the entire mixture at once. Three or four seperate blendings will be needed.)
3. Add the seasonings to the puree and mix well. Pour into the mold and cover the top with double thickness of aluminum foil.
4 Place in a pan of water and bake in a 325F oven for 1 hour. Cool the pate and store in the refrigerator. If desired, the top maybe decorated with truffle and a clear aspic poured over the top, after the pate has been chilled.

OK -- The pate is done when a tooth pick or knife comes out clean when put in the center of the pate. I've never used pork fat in this recipe, only chicken fat. I leave out the msg and use black pepper instead of white. I never put any topping over it, and I usually bake the pate in two or three bowls instead of just a 3 qt bowl. Also, we had goose for Christmas dinner last year and I saved the goose fat. It was very nice using the rendered goose fat in this recipe instead of the chicken fat!

Enjoy.


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## kansashat (Mar 13, 2004)

I reckon that ain't just chopped liver......


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## caskwith (Apr 10, 2006)

galaga said:


> From The Worlds Best Recipes CookBook; Marvin Small ed.
> 
> This does not keep for mare than a few days, so make it shortly before it is needed.....
> 
> ...


Im not a huge fan of baked pates like this, i prefer to fry the livers, bacon, shallot etc and get it all nice and brown and sticky before blending it to a smooth puree, i find it keeps just as well, is much quicker and easier to make and i think it tastes better too, give my reciepe a go soemtime, you can do it on a fairly small scale and it is ready in a matter of minutes, although is best if you leave it in the fridge overnight to firm up and allow the flavours to mingle.


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## Jsabbi01 (Feb 24, 2005)

Ok last night made this, this is the recipie.

Cut figs in half, brown in olive oil high heat, cut side down. Add chopped shallots once the figs are almost done. Lower heat to medium, cook for a few minutes to allow shallots to soften (do not let the shallots brown). Turn the heat back to high and de-glaze the pan with port, orange juice and balsamic vinegar reduction. Be sure to reduce the balsamic vinegar before, reduce about 1/2 cup into 1 tabalespoon of liquid. You may need to add sugar or more orange juice depending on the sweetness of the sauce. 

Take whole pieces of Foie Gras and clean them, cut the livers into 4 oz. pieces about 3/8" thich. Diamond score the top of each piece and then season with salt and pepper. Cook them in a high heat dry pan for 45 seconds scored side down, then 35 seconds on the other side. The pan will smoke a lot due to the fat content of the Foie Gras, be careful to avoid splashing fat or a possible fire. Once the Foie Gras pieces are done, reserve the fat in the pan and fry some thin (1/4") slices of french baguettes. 

Plate the dish by placing the Foie Gras over the toasted bread, and then place a few figs around the plate and drizzle with the sauce. You could vary the recipie and add some apples with the figs, or some cherries. This sauce would also work well with pork.

It was very tasty! We ate it with some fried yukon potatoes and a nice salad.

Another idea for Foie Gras would be to saute some apples and pearl onions and make a jack daniels/apple cider reduction.

Edit: don't forget to follow the dinner with your cigar of choice.


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## caskwith (Apr 10, 2006)

Jsabbi01 said:


> Ok last night made this, this is the recipie.
> 
> Cut figs in half, brown in olive oil high heat, cut side down. Add chopped shallots once the figs are almost done. Lower heat to medium, cook for a few minutes to allow shallots to soften (do not let the shallots brown). Turn the heat back to high and de-glaze the pan with port, orange juice and balsamic vinegar reduction. Be sure to reduce the balsamic vinegar before, reduce about 1/2 cup into 1 tabalespoon of liquid. You may need to add sugar or more orange juice depending on the sweetness of the sauce.
> 
> ...


That sounds mighty delicious, you obviously have a flare for cooking, when can i come over for dinner?


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## Jsabbi01 (Feb 24, 2005)

Almost went to culinary school, but decided I only enjoy cooking if I can eat the food I cook. Decided engineering would be better for me. 

caskwith, you bring the habanos, I'll cook the food. :w


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## caskwith (Apr 10, 2006)

Jsabbi01 said:


> Almost went to culinary school, but decided I only enjoy cooking if I can eat the food I cook. Decided engineering would be better for me.
> 
> caskwith, you bring the habanos, I'll cook the food. :w


I almost went down the road of chef but i couldnt handle the pressure of working in a kitchen, i really love cooking, but if i had that kind of pressure then i would start to loathe it im sure, and that put me off becoming a chef. i think id probably be better as a food critic, i love eating and coming up with receipes but that wouldnt be ass pressured, much more relaxed. its soemthing i would like to do maybe in later life, work with food and wine.


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